Xavier vs. Providence odds: Big East Tournament predictions from Vegas legend on 40-24 college hoops roll

Kenny White set lines for the biggest Vegas books; now, he's dishing out winners at SportsLine

Xavier takes on Providence in a Big East Tournament semifinal Friday at 6:30 p.m. ET. While the Musketeers are vying for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, Providence is trying to stay off the bubble with a marquee victory.

Xavier opened as a 7.5-point favorite and now is laying eight. The over-under, or total number of points Vegas thinks will be scored, has dipped from 151 to 149.5.

Before choosing either side, you need to read what Vegas legend Kenny White -- who has put together an impressive 40-24 run picking college hoops games -- has to say. 

On Thursday, White made a strong ACC Tournament pick involving North Carolina and Miami, boldly backing the Tar Heels at -5.5. He wisely recognized that Carolina would be seeking revenge for its last-second loss last week to the Hurricanes in its ACC home finale. The result: The Tar Heels romped 82-65, allowing White to cash with plenty of points to spare.

Part of his success: White learned the bookmaking business at his father's knee. He ran the powerful Las Vegas Sports Consultants, the group that supplied lines to the biggest casinos. The Vegas legend knows what's behind every point spread.

Now, he has examined every matchup, every player and every trend for Xavier-Providence and locked in his confident against-the-spread pick.

White knows the Musketeers' best shot at covering the spread will be shutting down the Friars' leading scorer, Rodney Bullock, who is averaging 14.1 points and 5.9 rebounds. Turning Providence into a perimeter-shooting squad is key since the Friars shoot 34 percent from beyond the arc.

But the Friars can cover the spread -- or win outright -- by sticking to Xavier's dynamic back-court duo, Trevon Bluiett and J.P. Macura. Bluiett leads the X-men in scoring (19.6 points) and rebounds (5.7). In his previous game against St. John's, he went off for 27 points and knocked down four 3-pointers in an 88-60 win.

So what side of Musketeers-Friars do you need to be all over? Visit SportsLine now to see the strong point-spread pick by White, who has absolutely crushed college basketball to find out.